Void Merchant

Version 3.5b Now Live - Monster Update



Trade. Survive. Profit.                                                                                                                                                

You're a deep-space trader working Sector 7 Gamma — five inner worlds and three lawless Rim stations connected by warp lanes. Buy low, sell high, and try to retire rich before your days run out.                                                                                                            

                                                                                                                                                          

  Features:                                                                                                                                               

  Dynamic economy — prices shift with supply and demand. Your trades ripple across neighbouring planets. Chase price spikes, but watch out — sell too much and you'll crash the market                                                                                                                        

  The Outer Rim — alien homeworlds and derelict stations where Quantum Cores and Ancient Relics fetch fortunes, but pirates, customs, and worse are waiting                                                                                                                                                   

Procedural planet traits — each run reshuffles specialties, economies, and hazards. One game Vela is a tax haven; the next it's under embargo           

Rival trader — Kael Voss is out there buying your stock and undercutting your routes. Trade intel with him, bribe your way past him, or fight him in the Rim                                                                                                                                                   

Rolling objectives — bonus contracts keep each run unpredictable. Deliver cargo, clear debt, or hit profit targets before time runs out

Four ships, five modules, three difficulties — from the duct-taped Rustbucket to the Apex Trader, upgrade your way through Drifter, Merchant, or Void Runner difficulty

Debt system — take loans to fund big plays, but interest compounds and the collectors aren't patient 

VOID MERCHANT v3.5b - The Big Update
Three major updates rolled into one. The economy got smarter, the UI got a

complete redesign, every planet has a story, and the ships have faces.

This covers everything since v3.3 (the last itch.io upload).

WHAT'S NEW

COMPLETE UI REDESIGN

  The single scrolling page is gone. Void Merchant now uses a 6-tab interface:

  Trade, Cargo, Warp, Comms, Mission, and Ship. Everything has its place. The

  status bar is cleaner: just the five numbers that matter. Navigate with

  keyboard shortcuts (T/S/C/W/O/N) or click the tabs.

ECONOMY OVERHAUL

 Travel costs are no longer flat. Nearby planets are cheap, distant ones are

  expensive. The loan system has escalating interest tiers and a hard debt cap.

  Ship abilities matter more: the Freighter gets trade network discounts, the

  Apex generates passive income, and the Rustbucket got a well-deserved nerf.

  Five new events keep things unpredictable, including a loan shark on Erebus

  and a debt collector who shows up when you have been dodging payments.

KAEL VOSS UPGRADE

  Your rival is smarter and more present. You can see where he is on the nav

  cards. He actively snipes price spikes. And he now has 4 tiers of dialogue

  that evolve as you encounter him, from cocky taunts to grudging respect.

A WORLD THAT FEELS ALIVE

  Every planet has unique arrival text. Commodity tooltips explain what you are

  trading and why it matters. Rumours sound like they came from a bartender,

  not a spreadsheet. Events read like stories, not system messages. Your first

  Rim jump gets special lore. The game over screen tells the story of your run.

SHIP PORTRAITS

  Each of the four ships now has a portrait in the shipyard, rendered in a retro

  wireframe style with cyan and amber glow. The Rustbucket looks like it is held

  together with tape. The Apex looks like it costs more than you will ever earn.

SOUND EFFECTS

  Six audio stings for key moments: warp jumps, trades, danger events, incoming

  transmissions, objective completions, and game over. Short, punchy, and they

  match the sci-fi aesthetic.

AUDIO SETTINGS

  The mute button is now an [AUDIO] menu with separate volume sliders for music

  and sound effects. Your settings are saved between sessions. Press M to open it.

KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS

  Full keyboard navigation. T/S/C/W/O/N/H switch tabs. Number keys 1-8 select

  destinations. Enter confirms jumps. M opens audio settings. Esc closes modals.

  Play the whole game without touching the mouse.

IN-GAME MANUAL

  New Manual tab (press H) with 8 sections covering everything: controls,

  trading strategy, planet info, ship stats, the Rim, Kael Voss, and the

  Traders' Guild. No more alt-tabbing to figure out how things work.

RUN SEEDS

  Each run gets a seed (VOID-XXXXX) shown on the start and game-over screens.

  Same seed produces the same world. Share interesting seeds with other players

  or replay a challenging setup.

CALLSIGN IN HEADER

  Your callsign now shows in the header badge during gameplay, so you always

  know who you are.